Region-based sharing of pictures

ABSTRACT

An embodiment of the invention provides a method for sharing digital images on an image-sharing application, wherein a digital image is received from a user, the digital image including a first access setting defined by the user. A user-defined select region is identified on the digital image with a processor, wherein the select region includes a second access setting. Access to the digital image is permitted with an access controller based on the first access setting; and, access to the select region is permitted with the access controller based on the second access setting. In at least one embodiment, the digital image is displayed only to a first group of individuals based on the first access setting; and, the select region is displayed only to a second group of individuals based on the second access setting.

BACKGROUND

The present invention is in the field of systems, methods, and computerprogram products for region-based sharing of pictures.

Due to the popularity of digital cameras, a dramatic increase of visualcontent such as photographs has been realized. The increased use ofvisual content has fostered new multimedia applications. For instance,FLICKR.COM, a photo sharing website, allows registered users to sharetheir photos. PLUS.GOOGLE.COM and FACEBOOK.COM are other websites thatallow users to upload a photograph that they want others to be able toview.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention provides a method for sharing digitalimages on an image-sharing application, wherein a digital image isreceived from a user, the digital image including a first access settingdefined by the user. A user-defined select region is identified on thedigital image with a processor, wherein the select region includes asecond access setting. Access to the digital image is permitted with anaccess controller based on the first access setting; and, access to theselect region is permitted with the access controller based on thesecond access setting. In at least one embodiment, the digital image isdisplayed only to a first group of individuals based on the first accesssetting; and, the select region is displayed only to a second group ofindividuals based on the second access setting. In another embodiment,the user-defined select region is smaller than the digital photograph;and, the second group of individuals is larger than the first group ofindividuals.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a method for sharingdigital images on an image-sharing application, wherein a digital imageand a first access setting are received from the user. The first accesssetting includes at least one of: individuals who are permitted to viewthe digital image, and individuals who are not permitted to view thedigital image. A select region on the digital image and a second accesssetting are received from the user. The second access setting includesat least one of: individuals who are permitted to view the selectregion, and individuals who are not permitted to view the select region.Access to the digital image is permitted with an access controller basedon the first access setting; and access to the select region ispermitted with the access controller based on the second access setting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical orfunctionally similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a user's photograph according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a first region of the photograph illustrated in FIG.1 according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a second region of the photograph illustrated in FIG.1 according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a third region of the photograph illustrated in FIG.1 according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for sharing digitalimages on an image-sharing application according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for sharing digitalimages on an image-sharing application according to another embodimentof the invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer program product according to an embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary, non-limiting, embodiments of the present invention arediscussed in detail below. While specific configurations are discussedto provide a clear understanding, it should be understood that thedisclosed configurations are provided for illustration purposes only. Aperson of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that otherconfigurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention.

At least one embodiment of the invention includes an efficient method ofpicture sharing that allows users to provide (e.g., upload) a singlemaster photograph, define ranges upon that photograph, and designate theusers and/or purposes for which that range can be used. In a preferredembodiment, a user will be enabled to upload a master picture (alsoreferred to herein as an “image”, “photograph”, or “photo”) to a filesharing website, social networking site, image hosting site, website, orother software application. The user is provided with an interfacewhereupon they are able to define various ranges of the photograph. Foreach region that is created on the master photograph, the user is ableto assign different sharing or functional attributes.

In the following example, reference is made to FIGS. 1-4, whichillustrate a user's photograph 100 showing different example rangesaccording to at least one embodiment of the invention. As used herein,the term “user” includes an entity of one or more individuals whosubscribe to and maintain a profile on an image-sharing application. Theuser is connected to (e.g., is “friends” with) his priest, his brother,his friends from college, and his interior decorator on a socialnetwork.

The user defines a first region 110 (also referred to herein as the“select region”) as a headshot and assigns that region to be shared withhis priest (FIG. 2). The user does this because he does not want hischurch community to know that he drinks alcohol, which is why the wineglasses are excluded from this region.

The user defines a second region 120 (also referred to herein as the“select region” or the “additional select region”) as a full-torsopicture and assigns that region to be shared with his brother (FIG. 3).The user does this because he doesn't want his brother to know that hewas visiting friends in Chicago without him. Therefore, the CHICAGOblanket and any other attributes of the apartment, such as pictureshanging from the wall, that his brother might recognize as being amutual friend's apartment in Chicago is excluded from the second region120.

The user defines a third region 130 (also referred to herein as the“additional select region”) to include himself, the “Chicago” blanket,and the wall pictures because he would like to share this picture withhis college friends (FIG. 3) to remember their time hanging out inChicago, but the entire photograph 100 is not relevant to that purpose.

The user shares the entire photograph 100 with his interior decorator,because he wants to know if he can get a similar room design for hishouse. Only the region(s) that the user has associated with his socialnetwork contact (or group of contacts) is shared. Specifically, only thefirst region 110 is shared with the user's priest; only the secondregion 120 is shared with the user's brother; and, only the third region130 is shared with the user's college friends. The entire photograph100, including the first region 110, second region 120, and third region130, is shared with the user's interior decorator. In such anembodiment, the intersection of two regions is viewable to usersassigned to either region.

In another embodiment, the intersection of two regions defines a newintersection region that has its own user sharing list, and is notnecessarily shared with either of the two regions that define it. If afirst region is shared with a user, but the intersection of the firstregion with a second region is not shared with said user, the non-sharedintersection can appear blacked out or blurred.

In another embodiment, functions other than cropping are applied to theregion, or the area outside of the region. For example, a region candefine an area that is to be obscured to certain users. This can beaccomplished by blurring of the region or placing a black bar over theregion for those who lack sufficient access privileges. In anotherembodiment, the area outside of the region is blurred or blackened. Asused herein, the terms “blackened” and “blocking” refers to a region orarea outside of a region is filled with a solid color (e.g., black,blue, or white) such that the region or area outside of the region isnot viewable. In another embodiment, the area outside the region isgiven a graphical filter, such as color balancing, sepia tone,brightness adjustment, or other common filters. In another embodiment,these filters are applied within the region. In another embodiment,filter regions and user-shared regions coexist.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for sharing digitalimages on an image-sharing application according to an embodiment of theinvention. As used herein, the term “image-sharing application” or“photo-sharing application” includes online services, websites, scripts,macros, servlets, applets, and other forms of programmatically executedinstructions. A digital image is received from a user via a graphicaluser interface, wherein the digital image includes a first accesssetting defined by the user 510. As used herein, the term “user”includes an owner and/or operator of a profile or account on theimage-sharing application (e.g., FLICKR.COM, MYSPACE.COM).

The first access setting defines individuals (or groups of individuals)who are permitted to view the entire digital image, and/or individuals(or groups of individuals) who are not permitted to view the entiredigital image. In at least one embodiment, individuals can be defined byciting a group to which they belong and/or a required attribute thatthey must have. For example, in at least one embodiment, the digitalimage is uploaded onto the image-sharing application by the user,wherein the first access setting allows the digital image to be viewedonly by the user. In another example, the first access setting allowsthe digital image to be viewed by all of the user's connections (e.g.,“friends”). In yet another example, the first access setting does notallow the digital image to be viewed by the user's family members and/orco-workers.

A user-defined select region is identified on the digital image, whereinthe select region includes a second access setting 520. In at least oneembodiment of the invention, the select region is identified by acomputer hardware processor (also referred to herein as the “processor”)when the select region is cropped (click and drag an image box with amouse) by the user. The second access setting defines individuals whoare permitted to view the select region and/or individuals who are notpermitted to view the select region. For example, in at least oneembodiment, the second access setting allows the select region to beviewed by the public, all registered users of the image-sharingapplication, and/or the user's friends and “friends of friends”. Inanother embodiment, the second access setting does not allow access tothe select region by the user's work group (e.g., The XYZ Corporation)and/or the user's mom and dad.

An access controller permits access to the entire digital image based onthe first access setting 530 and permits access to the select regionbased on the second access setting 540. For example, the accesscontroller permits access to the select region by the public, andpermits access to the entire digital image by the user's connections inNew York, N.Y. In at least one embodiment of the invention, the accesscontroller displays the digital image only to a first group ofindividuals based on the first access setting, and displays the selectregion only to a second group of individuals based on the second accesssetting.

In at least one embodiment, the access controller is a hardware deviceconnected to the processor. As used herein, the term “connected”includes operationally connected, logically connected, in communicationwith, physically connected, engaged, coupled, contacts, linked, affixed,and attached.

In at least one embodiment, the access controller is a hardware devicespecifically programmed to: receive a request to access the digitalimage from an individual; compare the first access setting to theindividual's profile; determine whether the individual's profilecomplies with the first access setting; permit the individual to access(e.g., view, download, copy) the digital image when the individual'sprofile complies with the first access setting; and, deny the individualto access to the digital image when the individual's profile does notcomply with the first access setting. In addition, the access controlleris specifically programmed to: receive a request to access the selectregion from an individual; compare the second access setting to theindividual's profile; determine whether the individual's profilecomplies with the second access setting; permit the individual to accessthe select region when the individual's profile complies with the secondaccess setting; and, deny the individual to access to the select regionwhen the individual's profile does not comply with the second accesssetting.

Therefore, the access controller permits access to the select region toa second group of individuals based on the second access setting, andpermits access to the digital image to a first group of individualsbased on the first access setting. In at least one embodiment of theinvention, the second group of individuals is larger than the firstgroup of individuals. Therefore, the first access setting limits thenumber of viewers of the digital image with respect to the second accesssetting. In other words, more people can see the select region ascompared to the number of people who can see the entire digital image.Everyone who has access to the entire digital image has access to theselect region, but not everyone who has access to the select region hasaccess to the entire digital image.

In another embodiment, however, more people are permitted access to theborder content (i.e., the digital image without the select region) thanthe select region. In this embodiment, the select region is renderedblack or blank to people who don't have access to the select region.

In at least one embodiment of the invention, at least one additionaluser-defined select region is identified on the digital image (e.g., bythe processor), wherein the additional user-defined select regionincludes a third access setting. In at least one embodiment, theadditional user-defined select region includes at least a portion of theselect region (e.g., the second region 120 and/or third region 130). Thethird access setting defines individuals who are permitted to view theadditional user-defined select region and/or individuals who are notpermitted to view the additional user-defined select region. Forexample, the third access setting allows the digital image to be viewedby the user's “Close Friends” group and/or “softball team” group, whichare defined by the user. In another embodiment, the third access settingdoes not allow access to the select region by the user's “acquaintances”group and/or “church” group, which are also defined by the user.

The access controller permits access to the additional user-definedselect region based on the third access setting. In at least oneembodiment, the third access setting limits the number of viewers of thedigital image with respect to the second access setting, and the firstaccess setting limits the number of viewers of the digital image withrespect to the third access setting.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for sharing digitalimages on an image-sharing application according to an embodiment of theinvention, wherein a digital image is received from a user 610 (e.g.,via a graphical user interface). A first access setting is received fromthe user 620 (e.g., via the graphical user interface), wherein the firstaccess setting includes individuals who are permitted to view thedigital image and/or individuals who are not permitted to view thedigital image.

A select region on the digital image is received from the user 630(e.g., via the graphical user interface). In at least one embodiment,the select region is smaller than the digital image. A second accesssetting is also received from the user 640 (e.g., via the graphical userinterface), wherein the second access setting includes individuals whoare permitted to view the select region and/or individuals who are notpermitted to view the select region. In at least one embodiment, thedigital image, first access setting, select region, and second accesssetting are received by a communications module (e.g., within aprocessor) connected to the graphical user interface. Access to thedigital image is permitted based on the first access setting 650; and,access to the select region is permitted based on the second accesssetting 660.

In at least one embodiment of the invention, access to the digital imageand select region are permitted by an access controller connected to theprocessor. For example, the access controller permits access to theselect region (e.g., the first region 110) to a second group ofindividuals (e.g., the user's location group (e.g., Washington, D.C.))based on the second access setting; and, the access controller permitsaccess to the digital photograph to a first group of individuals (e.g.,the user's school group (e.g., State University)) based on the firstaccess setting.

In at least one embodiment, the second group of individuals is largerthan the first group of individuals. Thus, the number of individuals whoare permitted to view the digital image is smaller than the number ofindividuals who are permitted to view the select region. In anotherembodiment, the first group of individuals is larger than the secondgroup of individuals, wherein the select region is blocked or blurred tothe second group of individuals.

In at least one embodiment of the invention, at least one additionalselect region on the digital image (e.g., the second region 120 and/orthird region 130) and a third access setting are received from the user.In at least one embodiment, the additional select region includes atleast a portion of the select region. Moreover, in at least oneembodiment, the third access setting defines individuals who arepermitted to view the additional select region and/or individuals whoare not permitted to view the additional select region. In at least oneembodiment of the invention, the additional select region and thirdaccess settings are received by the processor from the graphical userinterface.

Access to the additional select region is permitted (e.g., by an accesscontroller connected to the processor) based on the third accesssetting. In at least one embodiment, the number of individuals who arepermitted to view the digital image is smaller than the number ofindividuals who are permitted to view the additional select region; and,the number of individuals who are permitted to view the additionalselect region is smaller than a number of individuals who are permittedto view the select region. In another embodiment, the number ofindividuals who are permitted to view the digital image is larger thanthe number of individuals who are permitted to view the additionalselect region (e.g., the additional select region is blocked out tocertain individuals/groups); and, the number of individuals who arepermitted to view the additional select region is larger than the numberof individuals who are permitted to view the select region (e.g., theselect region is blurred to certain individuals/groups).

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment combining softwareand hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a“circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the presentinvention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in atleast one computer readable medium having computer readable program codeembodied thereon.

Any combination of at least one computer readable medium may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving at least one wire, portable computer diskette, hard disk, randomaccess memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), optical fiber, portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device, magneticstorage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In thecontext of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be anytangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of at least oneprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute with theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a representative hardware environment forpracticing at least one embodiment of the invention is depicted. Thisschematic drawing illustrates a hardware configuration of an informationhandling/computer system in accordance with at least one embodiment ofthe invention. The system comprises at least one processor or centralprocessing unit (CPU) 10. The CPUs 10 are interconnected with system bus12 to various devices such as a random access memory (RAM) 14, read-onlymemory (ROM) 16, and an input/output (I/O) adapter 18. The I/O adapter18 can connect to peripheral devices, such as disk units 11 and tapedrives 13, or other program storage devices that are readable by thesystem. The system can read the inventive instructions on the programstorage devices and follow these instructions to execute the methodologyof at least one embodiment of the invention. The system further includesa user interface adapter 19 that connects a keyboard 15, mouse 17,speaker 24, microphone 22, and/or other user interface devices such as atouch screen device (not shown) to the bus 12 to gather user input.Additionally, a communication adapter 20 connects the bus 12 to a dataprocessing network 25, and a display adapter 21 connects the bus 12 to adisplay device 23 which may be embodied as an output device such as amonitor, printer, or transmitter, for example.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises at least one executable instruction forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the root terms “include”and/or “have”, when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of at least oneother feature, integer, step, operation, element, component, and/orgroups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans plus function elements in the claims below are intended to includeany structure, or material, for performing the function in combinationwith other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description ofthe present invention has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to theinvention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen anddescribed in order to best explain the principles of the invention andthe practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in theart to understand the invention for various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for sharing digital images on animage-sharing application, said method comprising: receiving a firstinput, the first input including a digital image; receiving a secondinput from a user, the second input including a first access setting ofthe digital image; receiving a third input from the user, the thirdinput including a user-defined select region on the digital image;receiving a fourth input from the user, the fourth input including asecond access setting of the user-defined select region; receiving atleast one additional user-defined select region on the digital imagefrom the user; receiving a third access setting from the user;identifying the user-defined select region on the digital image with aprocessor; permitting access to the digital image with an accesscontroller based on the first access setting; permitting access to theuser-defined select region with the access controller based on thesecond access setting; and permitting access to the at least oneadditional user-defined select region based on the third access setting.2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first access settingdefines at least one of: individuals who are permitted to view thedigital image, and individuals who are not permitted to view the digitalimage, and wherein the second access setting defines at least one of:individuals who are permitted to view the user-defined select region;and individuals who are not permitted to view the user-defined selectregion.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first accesssetting limits the number of viewers with respect to the second accesssetting.
 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:identifying at least one additional user-defined select region on thedigital image, the at least one additional user-defined select regionincluding a third access setting; and permitting access to the at leastone additional user-defined select region based on the third accesssetting.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said third accesssetting defines at least one of: individuals who are permitted to viewthe at least one additional user-defined select region; and individualswho are not permitted to view the at least one additional user-definedselect region.
 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the thirdaccess setting limits the number of viewers with respect to the secondaccess setting, and wherein the first access setting limits the numberof viewers with respect to the third access setting.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein said permitting access to the digitalimage includes blocking at least one of the user-defined select regionand the additional user-defined select region.
 8. The method accordingto claim 4, and wherein said permitting access to the additionaluser-defined select region includes blocking the user-defined selectregion.
 9. A method for sharing digital photographs on a photo-sharingweb application, said method comprising: receiving a first input, thefirst input including a digital photograph; receiving a second inputfrom a user, the second input including a first access setting of thedigital photograph; receiving a third input from the user, the thirdinput including a user-defined select region on the digital photograph;receiving a fourth input from the user after receiving said third inputfrom the user, the fourth input including a second access setting of theuser-defined select region; receiving at least one additionaluser-defined select region on the digital image from the user; receivinga third access setting from the user; identifying the user-definedselect region on the digital photograph with a processor, wherein theuser-defined select region is smaller than the digital photograph;permitting access to the user-defined select region to a second group ofindividuals with an access controller connected to the processor, theaccess to the user-defined select region being based on the secondaccess setting; permitting access to the digital photograph to a firstgroup of individuals with the access controller, the access to thedigital photograph being based on the first access setting, wherein thesecond group of individuals is larger than the first group ofindividuals; and permitting access to the at least one additionaluser-defined select region based on the third access setting.
 10. Amethod for sharing digital images on an image-sharing application, saidmethod comprising: receiving a first input, the first input including adigital image; receiving a second input from a user, the second inputincluding a first access setting, the first access setting including atleast one of: individuals who are permitted to view the digital image,and individuals who are not permitted to view the digital image;receiving a third input from the user, the third input defines auser-defined select region on the digital image; receiving a fourthinput from the user, the fourth input including a second access setting,the second access setting including at least one of: individuals who arepermitted to view the user-defined select region, and individuals whoare not permitted to view the user-defined select region; receiving atleast one additional user-defined select region on the digital imagefrom the user; receiving a third access setting from the user;permitting access to the digital image with an access controller basedon the first access setting; permitting access to the user-definedselect region with the access controller based on the second accesssetting; and permitting access to the at least one additionaluser-defined select region based on the third access setting.
 11. Themethod according to claim 10, wherein a number of individuals who arepermitted to view the digital image is smaller than a number ofindividuals who are permitted to view the user-defined select region.12. The method according to claim 10, wherein said third access settingdefines at least one of: individuals who are permitted to view the atleast one additional user-defined select region; and individuals who arenot permitted to view the at least one additional user-defined selectregion.
 13. The method according to claim 10, wherein a number ofindividuals who are permitted to view the digital image is smaller thana number of individuals who are permitted to view the at least oneadditional user-defined select region; and wherein a number ofindividuals who are permitted to view the at least one additionaluser-defined select region is smaller than a number of individuals whoare permitted to view the user-defined select region.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein said permitting access to the digitalimage includes blocking at least one of the user-defined select regionand the additional user-defined select region.
 15. The method accordingto claim 10, and wherein said permitting access to the additionaluser-defined select region includes blocking the user-defined selectregion.
 16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the user inputsthe third input by cropping the user-defined select region with aninterface, said cropping including positioning four corners of theuser-defined region on the digital image.
 17. The method according toclaim 16, wherein the user-defined select region is positioned in anon-centric manner on the digital image.
 18. The method according toclaim 10, wherein the fourth input from the user is received prior tothe third input from the user.
 19. A method for sharing digital imageson an image-sharing application, said method comprising: receiving afirst input, the first input including a digital image; receiving asecond input from a user, the second input including a first accesssetting of the digital image; receiving a third input from the user, thethird input including a user-defined select region on the digital image;receiving a fourth input from the user, the fourth input including asecond access setting of the user-defined select region; receiving atleast one additional user-defined select region on the digital imagefrom the user; receiving a third access setting from the user;identifying the user-defined select region on the digital image with aprocessor; displaying the digital image only to a first group ofindividuals based on the first access setting; displaying theuser-defined select region only to a second group of individuals basedon the second access setting; and permitting access to the at least oneadditional user-defined select region based on the third access setting.20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: identifying atleast one additional user-defined select region on the digital image,the at least one additional user-defined select region including a thirdaccess setting; and displaying the at least one additional user-definedselect region only to a third group of individuals based on the thirdaccess setting.
 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the thirdaccess setting limits the number of viewers with respect to the secondaccess setting, and wherein the first access setting limits the numberof viewers with respect to the second access setting and the thirdaccess setting.
 22. The method according to claim 20, wherein saiddisplaying of the digital image includes blocking at least one of theuser-defined select region and the additional user-defined selectregion.
 23. The method according to claim 20, and wherein saiddisplaying of the additional user-defined select region includesblocking the user-defined select region.
 24. A method for sharingdigital images on an image-sharing application, said method comprising:receiving a first input, the first input including a digital image;receiving a second input from a user, the second input including a firstaccess setting, the first access setting including: individuals who arepermitted to view the digital image, and individuals who are notpermitted to view the digital image; receiving a third input from theuser, the third input including a user-defined select region on thedigital image; receiving a fourth input from the user, the fourth inputincluding a second access setting, the second access setting including:individuals who are permitted to view the user-defined select region,and individuals who are not permitted to view the user-defined selectregion; receiving at least one additional user-defined select region onthe digital image from the user; receiving a third access setting fromthe user; permitting access to the digital image with an accesscontroller based on the first access setting; permitting access to theuser-defined select region with the access controller based on thesecond access setting; and permitting access to the at least oneadditional user-defined select region based on the third access setting.